Introduction: Kicking off the season the ISE (International
Sportsmen's Exposition) is always a good opportunity to check out the new tackle
for the coming season. While many of the major manufacturers have already
launched their entire post ICAST lineup of products there are always a few
custom tackle builders that are on hand to showcase their latest products. This
year we walked the aisles and were able to find a few gold nuggets on the show
floor.

We return to the California Expo &
State Fairgrounds for the 2011 International Sportsmen's Expo in search of new
tackle

As usual the pros were on hand,
here Kent Brown talks to a packed house of anglers interested in learning more
about jigging techniques

Phenix: The team at Phenix always seems to have something special
to show us and unlike many rod that manufacturers that continue to play
conservative when it comes to new and high end offerings Phenix has been working
on two brand new series of rods.

The most exciting rods at the show
belonged to Phenix, they had prototypes on hand of new rods they are working on
including this high end 450 dollar rod

Phenix had the most interesting rods at the show and to mix things up the
company is working on a yet to be named high end series of rods that make use of
T-46 blanks. The cosmetics of the rod and blank were not final but when held in
hand the rods felt extremely lightweight. The rods will most likely end up using
K series guides and will come with Phenix’s popular split grip design. The
blanks feature a very interesting graphite pattern and even with a matte finish
the highlights are striking.

The new rod features ultra light
and sensitive T-46 blanks... and they look sick too

The rods feature the company's
popular split grip design

There will be a total of 12 rods in the new series and there will be both
casting and spinning models. Rods will retail for 450 dollars and Phenix will
make the blanks available for 225 dollars. The prototype rod we checked out
looked like it was ready for primetime but the company will be making more
refinements before it is officially introduced at this coming ICAST.

For more mainstream anglers the
company will also introduce the aggressively priced Assassin series which
feature "High-Tel Carbon Construction"

On the opposite end of the spectrum Phenix is also introducing a new
mainstream line of rods called the “Assassin” series. These rods also feature
enthusiast styling and make use of a rubber wrap over eva grips.

The rods will feature split grip design as well...

...and the prototype had an eva
grip wrapped in rubber, the final rod may or may not have this feature

The detailing on the reel clamp is
exquisite

The rods will make use of alconite guides and will retail for 149
dollars. The new rods will be technique specific and there will likely be 10
rods in the lineup with both casting and spinning rods. Like the yet to be named
higher end prototype rods the Assassin series will be officially introduced at
ICAST mid year.

The rod is finished with an
attractive aluminum butt-cap bearing the company's logo

Spinning rods with a full grip
will also be available

Vince shows us the exciting new
line from Phenix and we can hardly wait to fish these new rods